Take Your Best Shot
by ravenroses
Summary: Ariadne can't stop thinking about that kiss.


"Well, it was worth a shot."

She could hear the sentence in the back of her mind. His voice kept repeating it over and over back there. His voice was soft an sweet as he said it; a genuine smile on his lips as they parted. She had been confused and, like a young girl, she fell for it. Deep down, she had wanted to kiss him. It was pure luck that the chance came.

Now, not long after they all parted, she was on her own thinking of him once again.

Ariadne sank deeper into her seat. She should have been on her way back to school. Instead, she was on a train trying to see a few places before another job offer was made. Then again, she wasn't sure if there would be another job offer. Cobb was home with his children and the others managed to go their own ways as well. They each had numbers they could reach each other at in case an offer did arise.

She pulled out her phone and opened the address book. Of course his name was first. Alphabetical order or not, there was no way the world would let her forget him. _I need friends with other A names,_ she thought to herself. Immediately she closed the phone so she could stop looking at him name. The longer she stared, the more she would want to call him. The more she'd want to hear his voice again.

Hearing his voice wasn't enough anymore. Ariadne wanted to be near him again. She was deeply hoping for another offer. One more job just to be with him. She sighed and placed her head in her hands. A low groan of frustration escaped her lips. The idea of never seeing him again crossed her mind instantly. She sat straight up. That was a dreadful thought to have and it made her feel worse.

Suddenly, the phone began vibrating in her lap. She snatched it up and opened it without glancing at the screen. "Hello?" she said.

That light, breathy laugh sounded on the other end and her heart leaped into her throat. It was him. "A little over a week apart and you already forgot who I was?"

She smiled, "Of course not, Arthur."

She could hear him smile too, "Good to know. I have a question for you. Another job has come up, would you be interested?"

This was not something she had to think about, "Yes."

"That was a fast response. I was willing to give you a couple days to think about it," he said. His voice was no longer light or joking. Now it was serious and all about business. Her heart sank back into her chest.

She shook her head and then realized he couldn't see her, "I wasn't doing anything and another job would be great. I'll get off at the next stop and change my ticket. Where are we meeting?"

He gave her all the information she needed. The call ended soon after and Ariadne was sad that she had let it end. Hearing him hadn't been enough. She wanted to be close to him, wanted to stand by his side and be able to smell the scent that was uniquely him, wanted to touch him and let him kiss her. That was all she asked for. But she was afraid. They were supposed to be about business. Her heart wasn't supposed to get involved like this. At least the new target would allow her to keep her mind busy. She would have a new dream to design soon and that should help her. At least she hoped it would.

At the next station, she did what she said she would. Ariadne switched tickets and got on the next train back the way she had come. There would be no flying this time. This was a domestic job. She sighed thinking about the details he had left her with. That would be enough to occupy her for the trip back.

It was hard to tell if it felt like time had dragged on or if it had gone by too fast. It felt like she was at the empty warehouse one of the men had purchased in the blink of an eye. Her excitement and fear made time speed up and slow down. Ariadne was beginning to wonder if she was dreaming on the train. Her fingers were playing with the bishop piece in her pocket. It was a nice reminder but it wasn't answering her from its cloth confinement.

Her footsteps echoed on the old, dirty floor. The few men who were there turned to look at her. Eames was there with Arthur. It seemed she had interrupted their conversation. She smiled, swallowing her racing pulse at the same time. The two men smiled and greeted her. She stopped short of both of them; still within arms reach but not too close.

"Who else are we expecting?" she asked.

Arthur answered, "Cobb, eventually and possibly Yusaf. We're not quite sure on that one yet."

She couldn't say anything. Really, there wasn't anything for her to say so she nodded. She looked around the room, trying to avoid his eyes. There were a few tables in the open space. Four lounge chairs were in a circle by a smaller table. A silver briefcase sat closed tight on it. One of the two larger tables was empty while the other had building supplies and paper. That was to be her spot. She left the two to go to her spot.

Ariadne put her bag down on the table and looked at the pieces. There was a lot here. She was beginning to wonder if maybe it was too much. Did they think she'd mess up or was she going to have to make multiple levels again. She didn't want to design that much just yet. She was still tired from the last one.

She must have been more tired than she thought, she hadn't even heard Arthur walk up behind her. She jumped when he spoke to her. He gave her a look that asked what was wrong. She waved a hand in response. Her heart was racing again.

"That's enough for you, right?" he asked. She nodded. Her voice was magically gone, at least it felt like it was. He furrowed his brow to really look at her. She flashed a smile at him. _Maybe if I can act fine, he'll go away,_ she thought.

She looked past him and saw Eames sitting on one of the chairs. He looked relaxed and calm with one arm propping up his head and the other holding a picture out in front of him. He was studying it. Ariadne wondered if that was his next disguise, for lack of a better word.

Arthur was still standing in front of her. She smiled and pushed some hair out of her face. She turned, giving him her back and hopefully a hint to go away. He shrugged and went over one of the chairs to talk with Eames some more.

Without another glance, Ariadne began working.

The hours passed without her noticing. Day passed into night and night into the early hours of the morning. She didn't notice when the two men had fallen asleep, not wanting to leave her alone in the warehouse. She didn't notice when Eames woke up and left. When she did stop working, she saw a take out container on the previously empty table with her name on it. She also saw that Arthur was asleep in the chair he sat down in hours before. His head was to one side and his lips parted just a little. There wasn't a needle in his arm; she couldn't join him wherever he was now.

Ariadne frowned a little. She left her work station with a big yawn. She stretched out her arms and legs then made her way to the other table. She opened the container. A nice salad filled it. She smiled and picked up the fork. It was good. Since no one asked her what she wanted, she wondered who had gotten it for her. It had everything she liked.

From his spot, Arthur shifted in his chair before falling over to the side. He hit the dusty floor and jolted awake. Luckily, the chair hadn't toppled over on top of him. Ariadne couldn't help but laugh. She placed the hand holding the fork over her mouth to stop her laughter. The last thing she wanted was food to come out.

He got to his feet and brushed himself off. He straightened out his vest and adjusted his tie as well. He tried to get a good look at himself, turning his head side to side to try to see the backs of his legs. When he thought he was clean enough, he walked over to the table. He placed each hand along the edge, palms flat on the surface. Arthur leaned into them and looked at her with a smile on his face. "Glad to see you liked it," he said.

Ariadne skewered more lettuce onto her fork, "Did you get this for me?" She put the forkful in her mouth.

"Yes. We didn't want to disturb you but I figured you would want to eat at some point. To save you time, I got something I've seen you eat before," he seemed pleased with himself. It made her a little concerned.

"Well, thank you," she smiled before eating some more. That was the last for her, though. She put the fork inside and closed the lid. She pushed the container a little ways away from her, "I'm good now."

Arthur smiled brightly. It made her heart skip a beat. She averted her eyes. There was no way she could look at him anymore and not want to jump him. Once again, he sneaked up on her. She flinched in surprise when he touched her hand. She titled her head to the side to look at him on her left. He was still smiling and it made his eyes glow in the dim light of early morning. It was a contagious smile and she could not keep it off her own face.

"There's no threat this time," he leaned in and kissed her once on the lips. It was soft and sweet, not tense and quick like the first one. But, like the first one, the warm feeling lingered.

"Was it worth a shot?" she asked composing herself, a smile creeping up her face.

He smiled, "Yes." He leaned in once more and Ariadne met him halfway.


End file.
